Longtime US congressman Eliot Engel, whose defeat augured surge in anti-Israel sentiment, dies at 79

AIPAC eulogizes the Jewish lawmaker as a ‘steadfast friend of the pro‑Israel community,’ while fellow New York Democrats remember him as a ‘great champion of the Bronx’

JTA — Eliot Engel, a Jewish New York Democrat who served more than three decades in US Congress and became one of the most prominent pro-Israel voices on Capitol Hill, has died at 79.

Serving in the House of Representatives beginning in 1989, Engel’s decades-long career ended in 2021 when he lost the Democratic primary to Jamaal Bowman, a defeat that underscored a broader turning point in the Democratic Party’s shifting views on support for Israel.

“If we want to effectuate change in the world, if there are things we want to see in the world, if we are going to be the world leader, there are responsibilities that come with that,” Engel told The Washington Post in a December 2020 interview. “We are the leaders, and we should act like it.”

Born on February 18, 1947, in the Bronx to Jewish parents, Engel worked as a teacher and guidance counselor for New York City public schools before earning his law degree and serving in the New York State Assembly from 1977 to 1988.

“All four of my grandparents were immigrants, Jewish immigrants from what’s now Ukraine, who fled the pogroms of the early 20th century, looking for a safe haven and opportunity. And guess what? They found it in America,” Engel told The Jerusalem Post in 2021. “They came here before World War I. If they hadn’t come here, they almost certainly would’ve perished in the Holocaust. This country has been a refuge to people who are hurting for many, many years, and I’m grateful for it.”

Representing parts of New York including Westchester County and the Bronx, Engel’s time in office was marked by a consistent focus on foreign policy, including support for the NATO-led intervention in Kosovo in 1999 against Serbia and activism to protect Syrian civilians. He chaired the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee during the last years of his tenure.

In Congress, Engel also built a reputation as a committed pro-Israel lawmaker, regularly supporting strong US-Israel ties and maintaining relationships with Jewish and pro-Israel groups throughout his tenure.

“I’ve been proud to stand with our ally Israel, our closest friend in the Middle East and, I would argue, in the world throughout my career,” Engel told the Jerusalem Post. “I believe that the United States and Israel share an incredibly important partnership. And the cornerstone of this relationship is the support it receives from both sides of the aisle…No one should play partisan politics with America’s relationship with Israel.”

Engel’s time in Congress ended in 2021 after he lost to Bowman, a progressive educator who was openly critical of the Israeli government and said that US assistance to Israel should be conditioned on its behavior.

Engel’s defeat drew national attention and marked a broader turning point in the Democratic Party’s longtime consensus on support for Israel.

“Jewish Republicans have had plenty of disagreements with Rep. Engel during his 32 years in Congress, but his defeat is a blow to the historically bipartisan support for Israel in the US Congress,” the Republican Jewish Coalition said in a statement at the time.

The pro-Israel lobby AIPAC eulogized Engel in a post on X Friday, describing him as a “steadfast friend of the pro‑Israel community and an unabashed champion of the US-Israel relationship.”

“Throughout his distinguished 32‑year career in Congress, including as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Engel worked tirelessly to strengthen and deepen the strategic alliance between the United States and Israel,” the post read.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul also memorialized the late lawmaker in a post on X, writing, “The son of Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants, Eliot Engel brought the best of the Bronx to Congress.”

New York Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, who serves the Bronx and is one of the most outspoke pro-Israel voices in his party, called Engel “one of the greatest champions the Bronx has ever had in Congress” in a post on X.

“He served for more than three decades with unyielding dedication, fighting for his constituents and standing up for democracy around the world,” Torres wrote. “He was a trailblazer for the Bronx in Washington, and a fierce advocate for Kosovo and the Albanian community at a time when few others were paying attention.”

Engel is survived by his wife, Patricia; his daughter, Julia; his sons, Jonathan and Philip: his sister, Dori Kaplan; and three grandchildren.